Around the World in Eighty Puffs
by AaronCottrell97
Summary: Thomas the Tank Engine has always dreamt of traveling the world, and when he meets a speedy racing car named Ace, his dream is finally about to become true. But before Thomas can become the first engine to ever travel across the globe, he has one important matter that he must attend to. Someone he must reassure.


It was a few days now after Thomas and Emily met up and gave thought to the earlier days of their relationship and how it could have been if they had confessed their love for each other earlier. It was yet another simple day on Sodor, except for Thomas, who had been having trouble with some tankers. Their brakes would not unlock properly and he had trouble moving them. Gordon could see what was going on and teased Thomas for needing help with so few trucks.

"Oh dear, Thomas. That must be too many trucks for a little tank engine like you. Why don't you ask another engine to help you?"

"I don't need any help! I can do this by myself!" huffed Thomas. But the brakes wouldn't budge, and Gordon continued to laugh.

"Laugh if you like, Gordon. You always think I'm too small to do anything! But I'm gonna go far! I'm…I'm…I'm gonna see the world one day! Just you wait and see!"

Suddenly, the breaks came off and Thomas shot forward and then bumped into the buffers, jolting some of the tankers off the rails.

"A little tank engine who wants to see the world!" Gordon bragged. "Take a look around you, Thomas! This IS your world!" And Gordon continued to laugh loudly while some workmen came over to help reassemble the tankers back on the line…

Elsewhere, the Thin Clergyman was riding his bike along the roads outside Sodor, when suddenly, a flash of yellow shot past him. The yellow thing was racing car, carrying the number 43 on his side. He had come from Australia and found his way to Sodor to catch his first ship for an event he was following across the globe. He was a very fast car, and quite showy too, beaming with pride everywhere he went. Suddenly, he saw Flying Scotsman huffing for Sodor and raced up beside him.

"Excuse me, mate, is this the way to the island of Sodor?" asked the car.

"Yes, but only if you're a railway engine!" Flying Scotsman replied.

The car suddenly saw a break in the fence ahead and jumped the rails. He rode alongside Flying Scotsman and just missed hitting Sidney as he raced back onto the road again once they had crossed Vicarstown Bridge.

Back in the yards, workmen had helped Thomas maneuver the tankers onto the rails again, when the Fat Controller came by, holding his nose against a train full of fish.

"What are these still doing here?" he asked. "Thomas, you need to take these fish trucks to Vicarstown! They're very smelly!"

"But James is supposed to do that, sir!" said Thomas. "I'm supposed to take Annie and Clarabel out on my Branch Line."

"James isn't here," said the Fat Controller. "We simply can't have these fish stinking up the yard anymore."

"Oh, and don't forget to bring me my coaches, Thomas! I mustn't keep my passengers waiting!" Gordon teased as he made his way to the platform. Suddenly, Thomas got a plan to make Gordon look silly, being cheeky as he could be once in a while. He knew that the express was going to Vicarstown too. And so, when Gordon's coaches were ready and boarded by his passengers, his green flag was waved and Gordon set off with the express…and the fish trucks the Fat Controller had told Thomas to take care of.

"Is Gordon pulling fish trucks?" sniffed Clarabel.

"Those fish trucks need to be taken to Vicarstown and THAT's where Gordon is going. He's just being really useful. He's just being extra useful today!" Thomas chortled. He called out to Gordon for the "Fish express," before he set off for his Branch Line.

Meanwhile, Bertie was rolling along the road with his passengers, singing to himself…when the same racing car who met Flying Scotsman suddenly shot past him too.

"Hey! Excuse me!" Bertie called out. The racing car kept speeding along the road, alongside Thomas' Branch Line. He sped up to catch up and meet the tank engine.

"Who is that?" said Annie.

"Hello! Are you a racing car?" Thomas asked.

"That's me, mate! I certainly am!" said the car.

"Wanna race?" challenged Thomas, not taking heed to his coaches' protests.

"What, a little race car like me, against a big tank engine like you? Alright! Ready, set…" But Thomas already shot off as fast as he could, but he was quick to realize that the racing car was one vehicle that Thomas could not beat as he arrived at the station quite some time before Thomas did, showing off with a complete spin on the road.

"Cinders and ashes, that was amazing! You can spin around in a complete circle. I wish I could do that," said Thomas.

"You mean a 360, mate? What's stopping you?" asked the car.

"These rails," said Thomas. "The only time I get to spin around is when I'm on the turntable, and that's not very fast, but you can do a 360! Who are you and what are you doing here? I've never seen you on Sodor before."

"Me? My name's Ace and I'm on a race around the world! Five cross-country rallies on five different continents."

"Wow! And is the first race here on Sodor?"

"On Sodor?! Don't be silly! I'm here to catch a ship to get to the first race!" Ace explained.

"That's so exciting! I've always wanted to see the world!" said Thomas.

"Then why don't you?" suggested Ace. "They do have railways in other countries, Mate, you should do it? Free and easy that's my motto? Who knows? You could be the first railway engine to go all around the world! That's probably never been done!"

Thomas thought about it and suddenly remembered. Way back when he first came to Sodor, he had mentioned that thought to Edward, and several times throughout his life Thomas had been excited over trips to the Mainland…but he had never heard of any offers to travel the world like he once imagined. The mere thought made him so excited to get a chance like this.

"Well, I ain't got time to hang around here all day. I need to carry on with my speed trials," Ace announced before he set off again.

"So do I!" said Thomas. He suddenly took off after Ace, not noticing Bertie arriving with the passengers bound for Thomas' Branch Line.

"Where are you going? I have passengers for you? THOMAS!" Bertie called, but Thomas was too far off to hear. He soon caught up with Ace and had a few questions he needed answered before Ace would leave.

"Excuse me, Ace!" he called when he caught up. "I just have a few quick questions!"

"Well, be quick!" called Ace.

"When is your ship leaving?" asked Thomas.

"Tomorrow at 3:00 p.m.!" Ace replied.

"Alright! Do you think I could have a chance to come along?" Thomas asked.

"If you can hurry!" said Ace. "Free and Easy! Come along if you please. Just be on time tomorrow if you do!" And he sped off down another road and out of sight, while Thomas memorized what he had just heard. He was becoming more and more excited, but he would have a few obstacles to overcome before he could go anywhere beyond Sodor…

Gordon, meanwhile had arrived at Vicarstown with his express and the fish trucks Thomas had coupled to him. All along his line, he was oblivious to Thomas' trick, still feeling amused by the little incident he saw Thomas go through in the yards. As he approached the Vicarstown platform, Flying Scotsman was there waiting.

"Hello, little brother!" he teased.

"Hello," Gordon frowned. As he pulled into the station, Flying Scotsman sniffed the air.

"What's that terrible smell? Is to you, Gordon?! Are you pulling the Flying Kipper today, or are those actually fish trucks on the back of your coaches?" As Gordon's passengers were let off, he suddenly remembered.

"Fish trucks? FISH TRUCKS? Oh, the Indignity. THOMAS!" Gordon shouted angrily.

Back on his Branch Line, Thomas was now lost in thought about everything Ace had told him. He was now very excited. He had not given very much thought to travelling the world aside from when he mentioned it to Edward when he first came to Sodor. It just all seemed so welcoming to him. Now, he was about to face the first obstacle to overcome: convincing the Fat Controller about his thought. When he returned to Knapford Station, he saw the Fat Controller waiting for him.

"Ahh, Thomas. Thank you for sorting out those fish trucks earlier. That was a great help," he said.

"Not a problem, sir," said Thomas. "Always happy to be a really useful. And…well, there is something else I wanted to talk to you about, sir. I've had an idea… how would you like it, sir, if one of your engines could be the first railway engine to go right around the world?"

The Fat Controller was intrigued by this thought, but didn't have much excitement about the matter. "Around the world? I've never heard of a railway engine going around the world."

"Yes, sir. I know sir. It's probably never been done before," said Thomas.

"Well, it would be a marvelous thing if it could be done, Thomas. But I doubt it's that easy. The world is not all one big railway you know. There are oceans to cross, as well as deserts and jungles and mountains…" The Fat Controller's phone was beginning to ring now.

"But it would be a marvelous thing, wouldn't it sir?" said Thomas.

"Yes, Thomas it would...Oh, bother that telephone. If you can figure out a way of actually doing it…"

"Yes, sir! I can," said Thomas as he set off again with Annie and Clarabel, feeling relieved and even more excited. The Fat Controller seemed open to the idea and open to Thomas finding a way to do it.

But then as Thomas left, he suddenly saw Emily entering the station. As he passed her, he suddenly felt a certain weight hit his heart. His excitement suddenly felt hit and dropped back down. It all suddenly began flooding into him…He remembered when he snuck off to the Mainland and wound up lost at the Steelworks, and worrying Emily so much. It was a huge mistake he made, especially given that he almost met his end in a burning cauldron.

And he remembered what he and Emily agreed on after she had punished him with three weeks of no kisses. He had promised to her that he wanted to travel beyond Sodor, he had to tell her first so she'd be prepared for time without him and she wouldn't be worrying with no knowledge of what could be happening to him.

All the rest of the day, Thomas thought and thought about how he would explain all of this to Emily and how she would take the news. To travel the world could take a matter of months, close to a full year. Until this adventure would bring him home again, they'd be away from each other, whole continents apart. It was an uncertain and jittery thought for Thomas to process. Finally, as evening closed in, he decided he would just tell her that evening, make everything clear to her and see what she would say.

That evening, Thomas left Annie and Clarabel in their siding at Knapford Station when he saw Emily come along again. He whistled to her, making her look at him. She could see he was looking nervous, urgent and full of thought all at once.

"Hello, Thomas. What's going on?" asked Emily. "You look unsettled."

Thomas sighed deeply. "Hello, Emily. Come with me to Knapford Sheds…there's something I need to tell you right now."

"Oh…OK," said Emily. She followed Thomas to the shed and went inside with him. As she buffered to Thomas, she saw he was still looking nervous. He was even shaking a little from all his thoughts.

"Thomas, what's wrong?" asked Emily. "Did something happen?"

Thomas looked at her, staring deeply into her eyes. After a few minutes of complete silence he leaned in and kissed her cheek, holding his lips there for almost a minute before letting go.

"No. Nothing happened, Emily…" he said. "I…I brought you here because…I need to alert you of something."

"What, Thomas?" said Emily.

Thomas shuddered and decided not to hold it in anymore. "Well…earlier today…I was on my Branch Line, when I saw this racing car named Ace speeding along the road beside me. Like I sometimes do with Bertie, I challenged him to a race. He beat me of course, being a racing car…and he revealed to me that he is on a world tour, participating in racing rallies on all five continents…"

"Yes…so, why are you telling me this?" asked Emily.

"Well…I don't think I told you this…but when I first came to Sodor so long ago, I had mentioned to Edward that I wanted to travel the world. I was much younger and new to everything here of course…but with everything I've been through with my life here, I didn't give much thought to travelling the world…and then when you came into my life, aside from my duties to Sodor, you were what mattered most to me of anything in the world…and you still do mean everything to me, Emily…but Ace told me that he's catching a ship here to get to his first race…and this is where I'm going to tell you what I need to tell you."

Emily felt a little jump in her heart as she waited for Thomas to continue.

"No other engine has done this…but he said I could be the first railway engine to go all around the world. It's never been done before."

"Yes…" said Emily, beginning to sound a little concerned. "What do you mean, Thomas?"

"Well…remember when you told me to promise never to leave Sodor without telling you first?"

"Yes," said Emily.

"Well…today, I'm holding to that promise. To make sure you'd be prepared, I brought you here so I can tell you right now…Ace told me about the tour going on across the globe, and offered me a chance to make my dream come true…to travel the world. He told me he's catching a ship tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. It just seems like the prime opportunity for me to take. Emily…I came to say goodbye. This is my best, and maybe only chance to see so much of the world in one trip. Since I'd be travelling the world, I assume I'd be gone for several months…but that means I will come home again. Please…may I follow this one wish and travel and see the world?"

Emily didn't answer. Instead, she looked down and just thought to herself. She tried to imagine what it would be like to have Thomas away from her for so long on such a big adventure around the world. It seemed quite unusual and would take quite some time to get used to. She imagined what it would be like to have a Sodor without Thomas for such a long time. Then she spoke again, sounding quite jittery herself.

"T-Thomas…" she whispered. "I'm very pleased you kept your promise. You told me that you want to travel beyond Sodor, you have told me when you are leaving, and I know that you're going to be gone for a long, long time. And for telling me before leaving, thank you so much...but I must ask…why would you want to travel the world?"

Thomas kissed Emily's lips and spoke again. "Well, my love, as much as I love Sodor and everything and everyone on this island…I like the idea of seeing what lies beyond the Mainland and England. There's a much bigger world out there that I'd like to see, just once, so I can see what it's like elsewhere. But I assure you, Emily…I would miss you greatly on this adventure…but at least there are two things to reassure us both. Firstly, I have lived here for many years already long before you came to Sodor and I was able to live happily until you came along and made me even happier…and you had your own life on the Great Northern Railway long before you met me. Therefore…I think we could get through several months away from each other. And secondly, we WILL be together again. Life will be back to normal for both of us in the end. Maybe in the future, I may take other journeys like this…but...the more I think about it…maybe by any possibility, you could come along with me. Maybe a few years from now, something could be worked out."

Emily breathed deeply to herself as she heard everything Thomas said. "Well, Thomas…this is going to be a very different time for both of us…a very different one indeed. But if you have a desire to see the world, I will not stop you. As I remember after you came back from the Steelworks, I told you to promise me that you'd tell me about your travels before you go. I didn't say anything about me saying yes or no to you going anywhere. Since you have told me about your intentions before leaving… I am prepared for when you leave. So…you can go on this adventure if you really want to. I do have all the rest of the island of Sodor and all the other engines to be with until you come back. I won't be all alone here after all…and depending on who you may meet out there, you won't be all alone either."

Thomas had listened to everything Emily said too, and took a deep breath.

"Yes…yes, Emily. That is all true for both of us. For you, here on the island of Sodor, you have many engines who love you as friends and who can interact with you if you need them. And you have your first driver's son here to look after you as well. As for me, out there is a whole new world, where I can travel! And I've got a racing car to prove it! I'm getting on that ship tomorrow at 3:00 p.m."

Emily suddenly got another thought. "But Thomas…what about the rest of the island? And the Fat Controller?"

Thomas felt as though she'd bring this up, and was ready to answer. "I'm afraid I can't spare the time to tell them all. I'd miss the ship. And the Fat Controller did say the idea of an engine going around the world would be marvelous. The reason I told you is because of my promise and because you are what matters to me above anything. If any engines ask of me not being around tomorrow, please tell them you don't know where I went…besides, they'll find out for themselves eventually."

Emily looked left and right to herself, then sighed. "Oh, Thomas," she said. "I don't know what to say…your loyalty to me can never be equaled by any engine…and I really do mean that."

Thomas smiled slightly. "Thank you, Emily…well, tomorrow, I'll be travelling the world, like I once wished. But in spite of all this…no matter how long I am gone, I WILL come home again. I love you, and I always will love you."

Emily finally smiled and kissed Thomas' lips. "Thank you, Thomas. I love you too. I'll always love you."

"You are very welcome to come with me tomorrow to see me off at the docks," said Thomas. "For now…let's just sleep here and enjoy every moment of it…until the time comes."

Emily smiled a little more, then slowly opened her mouth. "Please, Thomas…one more tonight?" she whispered before reaching her tongue out.

Thomas couldn't say no. He puckered his lips and began to very softly and carefully kissing her lovely tongue. He moaned as he felt Emily's beautiful, slippery tongue tingling on his lips, and his boiler bubbled peacefully when he heard her whimper to his kisses on her tongue.

"Ahh…Uhh…" she moaned. "Oh, Tommy…"

She slowly drew her tongue back after a minute and she and Thomas kissed to the lips for a few minutes more before falling asleep, feeling every passing moment into the night.

The next morning, Thomas and Emily woke up in silence, knowing what would happen around 3:00 p.m. Thomas decided to do a final two jobs before he'd leave, and before Emily left to do her first round of jobs, she promised to meet him at Brendam Docks in time to see him off.

As the morning turned out, there was yet another load of fish to go to Vicarstown. Thomas placed those trucks at the end of Gordon's express again before Gordon even arrived. Gordon didn't notice this trick either…and when he arrived at Vicarstown and heard Flying Scotsman laugh at him again, Gordon became so furious, even Flying Scotsman was speechless as his little brother stormed out of the station, bound to find Thomas and get even.

After that, Thomas took Annie and Clarabel for a few passenger rounds…until he checked the clock at Maithwaite Station. It was 1:00 p.m. The ship taking Ace to the first race would leave in two hours. Thomas suddenly became urgent and forgot about Bertie's passengers again, as he did the day before.

He rushed back to the yards and left Annie and Clarabel. As he left again, he saw Emily passing through and whistled to her.

"The ship is set to leave in just under two hours, Emily," he said. "Come to meet me as soon as you can!" and off he dashed. Emily heard Thomas and whistled back in response as she finished her current delivery and stopped to rest before she'd follow him.

Then, at 1:15 p.m., Bertie came by Knapford Station to ask about Thomas' whereabouts. He saw Percy by the platform, being shortly followed by Emily.

"Hello? Have you seen Thomas, Percy? He didn't wait for my passengers today," said Bertie.

"Thomas? Thomas left Annie and Clarabel in the yard. I don't know where he went after that," said Emily.

"THOMAS! WHERE is Thomas?" Gordon hissed as he stormed into the station. "He coupled fish trucks to the back of the express today! AND he had done it before, yesterday! Just wait until I catch up with him!"

Then the Fat Controller came out of his office. "Has anyone seen Thomas? I have a goods train I want him to take to Arlesburgh for me."

All the engines, except Emily became uncertain. What could have suddenly happened? Where was Thomas?

Before long, the whole island was placed into action to search for Thomas once again, like they were when he disappeared down the mine at Great Waterton. All except Emily, who made her way to Brendam Docks to see Thomas one last time before his big world adventure. On the way, she had to stop at a red signal. Then she saw David walking along the line, wearing his purple shirt and sailing coat again.

"Emily? Where are you going?" he asked.

Emily told David the essential parts about her talk with Thomas the previous night, and about Thomas travelling to see the world. David nodded gravely and got on board Emily to ride with her to Brendam.

Meanwhile, many engines were set to tell the Fat Controller immediately if they found any sign of Thomas. Gordon was still feeling a little cynical about Thomas for ruining his express with fish, as was Diesel, being devious as he was. Percy, Rosie, Edward and Toby were all naturally worried about this sudden disappearance, as were Sidney and Paxton. They all wondered if he rolled into the ocean past a danger sign, like Percy did, being stuck in a tunnel like Henry was, ran through a stationmaster's house like he did so long ago without a driver, or strayed into an overgrown siding like Hiro was for many years, or even going through a tunnel leading to an unknown island like he did with Misty Island.

At the Clay Pits, Marion, Bill, Ben and Timothy all wondered if Thomas could have been caught in landslide like Percy when he saved James, fall off a bridge, climb a mountain or be stuck on a ridge. Even James was worried. As he searched up and down Gordon's Hill, he wondered if he derailed like he did, trying to win a race, or if he was taken again by different steelworks engines like Frankie and Hurricane.

No one knew where Thomas was, but the Fat Controller ordered them all to keep looking.

While the search was going on with most of the engines, at Brendam Docks, the time was now 2:00 p.m. Ace was just being loaded on board when Emily came along. David stayed hidden inside the cab with her driver and fireman. She stopped right by Thomas and looked up.

"Is…is that Ace?" she whispered.

"Yes, Emily. It is," said Thomas. They looked up and Ace was just lowered below the rim, onto the ship.

"I see." Then Emily suddenly seemed a little stern. "This is quite off-topic, Thomas…but did you put fish on Gordon's express? Today and yesterday?"

"I was just having a little fun after he teased me, Emily," said Thomas. "Besides, he still was useful to take that fish to Vicarstown, as he did his passengers. He did get two jobs done that way. There's no time for that. When I come back, that won't matter."

Emily sighed and forgot about Gordon. "Well…this is it, Thomas. You're going on your big world adventure…"

"Y…yes, Emily," said Thomas. "I'm gonna see the world. I'm finally going to get that wish."

"Yes…you will…" said Emily. She stared into Thomas' eyes, feeling her eyes begin to soften and water up slightly. Thomas' eyes began to soften and water up too. After a few moments of silence, Thomas and Emily came together and shared a final cuddle to their cheeks for five minutes. Within those minutes, they shared one more gentle kiss to the lips before they let go and Thomas got ready.

He did not avert his eyes from Emily for a moment as Carly lowered her arm and workmen hitched Thomas up to be lifted to the ship with Ace. Emily watched endlessly as Carly slowly lifted Thomas up and onto the ship. He could still see Emily above the rim as she looked back to him. They continued to keep their gaze on each other until the Dock Manager announced that it was 3:00 p.m. The ship blew its horn and slowly began to move. Both engines' eyes became even shinier as they slowly saw each other moving away.

"Goodbye, my handsome cobalt star. I love you," said Emily. "Goodbye, my sweet, sweet Thomas. Have fun on your big world adventure…and we'll all be here when you come back."

"Goodbye, Emily, my beautiful emerald angel. I love you," Thomas answered back as he was lowered onto the ship. "I'll never stop thinking about you. I love you so much."

Emily and Thomas kept their eyes on each other as they became further and further away. Emily blew her whistle loud and long. Thomas whistled back, and so they did, until at last, they became too small to see each other's forms.

David stepped out of Emily and called out to the ship as it disappeared on the horizon before he turned back to Emily.

"Goodbye, Thomas! Goodbye! Oh, I'm going to miss that boy." Then he settled himself on Emily's running plate.

The two of them spent a while at the docks in silence, both full of thought and unsettled feelings of what had just happened. David looked at Emily once in a while and softly touched her cheek. Emily looked back and curved he lips up just a little.

Almost forty minutes later, David got down from Emily's running plate and got inside her cab again. Suddenly, James came along, calling for Thomas.

"Where in the world is Thomas?" he whistled.

Emily looked up at Carly, and suddenly remembered. The search was going on. She'd have to tell the Fat Controller something. So she hastily made her way out of the docks. On the way, she passed Gordon, Percy, Toby and Philip. They all saw her urgent expression and followed her, hoping to hear any word about Thomas. She flew into the station and stopped just outside the Fat Controller's office.

"Sir, sir, sir! I found out what happened to Thomas!" she exclaimed hastily.

The Fat Controller came out. "Alright, Emily. Calm down, and tell me slowly," he said.

"Thomas went down to the Docks, sir. And...and Carly loaded him onto a ship!" she worried.

"She did what? But... that means... he could be anywhere in the world!" The Fat Controller dashed back into his office and began to speculate even further. Perhaps Thomas would be exploring Egypt where the pyramids were, or in the Australian outback, or out in Paris. Rio de Janeiro, Africa, Venice, Tokyo. Anywhere in the world, but he had no clue or knowledge at all of where he was.

In desperation, the Fat Controller ordered the search to go on as long as possible. The only engine who did not search was Emily. She had known the roots of all this since Thomas told her the previous evening. All she could do was pretend to search along the line until the Fat Controller called all the engines back to report their search that evening.

"We still don't know, sir," said Henry.

"Well, we have to find him. He's my No. 1 Engine!" said the Fat Controller.

All the engines left the station, but before the hour was out, the Fat Controller had calmed down a little after so much speculation and accepted that Thomas couldn't be on Sodor by any chance. And so, he sent word all across the island to call off the search. The whole island was dismayed and worried for Thomas. No one knew what had happened to him except Emily and David. It all seemed perfectly normal the day before, but now he was suddenly gone from the rest of the island.

That night, as Harold flew back to the Rescue Center, at Tidmouth Sheds, all the engines minds were full and couldn't fall asleep for quite a while. Once again, Edward had agreed to stay at Tidmouth Sheds until Thomas would return. Molly kindly agreed to let Edward take the berth while she slept on the siding beside Emily's berth. Gordon tried to sleep, but even for him, it wasn't easy.

The Fat Controller came by and spent a while staring at the empty berth between Edward and Percy.

"Oh, Thomas…where could you be?" he said. Then he spent a while pacing up and down along the sheds, not saying a word. All the engines watched him and waited. Suddenly, the Fat Controller stopped and looked at the engines.

"Everyone," he said. "I have decided…Thomas isn't the only one out in the world."

"What do you mean, sir?" asked Henry.

The Fat Controller adjusted his top hat and looked straight and tall. "I'm going out to see if I can find him."

"What?!" exclaimed Gordon, opening his eyes. "But sir, we don't know where Thomas could be!"

"That's right, and I intend to find him and see what I can do!" said the Fat Controller. "Tomorrow, I am venturing out to follow his trail. I will spend tonight setting my working affairs in order. So, I need all of you to listen: Until I return with Thomas, Mr. Percival will be in charge of the North Western Railway. You will obey his orders, just as you obey mine. Do not let him down, and don't anyone worry. I will return, and so will Thomas!"

All the engines remained silent for a few moments, then answered all at once. "Yes, sir!"

The Fat Controller smiled and tipped his hat. "Goodbye to you all now. I'm coming for you, Thomas." And he turned back to his car and drove away.

No engine could contemplate what had just happened on that very day. The only engine who had any knowledge of this event so far was Emily. At the very least, she was thankful that Thomas had told her he was going to leave for a while, letting her know what would follow next, and being able to see him off. But even being prepared was not enough to settle her uncertainties. Not only would she be spending close to a year without Thomas on Sodor, but now, the North Western Railway had a new controller in place of Sir Topham Hatt. Now Mr. Percival, the Thin Controller would be in charge of the North Western Railway until further notice. But she wouldn't be alone. The next few months would still have a few events to come and go for other engines. While Thomas would be out exploring the world, there would be plenty stories for him to hear upon his return.

* * *

We've finally reached the current "era" of the show, and I bet a lot of you were expecting a full adaptation of the film. You probably assumed so because of the title. But, nope. Not happening. I like BWBA quite a lot, but I am not adapting Thomas' journey across the world. The title was to deliberately screw with you guys and mess up your expectations of what I was going to do. Here's the deal for the next few months; Thomas will NOT be in any of my upcoming stories for the next couple of months, we are focusing primarily on everything that happened on Sodor during Thomas' absence.

In the film, Thomas travels through the Rio Carnival, an event that occurs in February, or March during a Leap Year, so it's Spring, and when Thomas returns to Sodor at the end of the film, you can clearly see that it's Autumn, so realistically, Thomas must have spent at least six months travelling the world. In other words, my upcoming stories will focus on Sodor during the six months Thomas is away, so basically we're gonna be dealing with how Emily will cope without Thomas for six months. But there is another reason why I'm doing this, and that is so that I can focus on my other couples, especially LukeXMillie and RosieXStanley since they've been neglected, though that's mainly because I have trouble coming up with ideas for them.

But don't worry, Thomas and Emily will always be the heart and soul of my stories, I'm just moving away from them for the time being, but once I bring Thomas back, they will definitely be the main focus once again. So, tell us what you guys thought of this major story, and we'll see you all next time.


End file.
